Trevor Noah Thinks Paul Manafort Got Mixed Up With the Wrong Crowd

Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. What do you think of it? What else are you interested in? Let us know: thearts@nytimes.com.

Guilty Associations?

As the special investigator Robert Mueller presses on with his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, reports have surfaced that Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign chairman, offered to privately brief a Russian billionaire on the status of his primary campaign. Trevor Noah doesn’t think there’s any way to put a positive spin on that one.

“Manafort offered to brief a Russian oligarch on the campaign that he was running for Trump. Now, does that prove he did anything wrong? No, but ask yourself this: When has the phrase ‘Russian oligarch’ ever been a good thing? It’s like the phrase ‘a cappella concert,’ or ‘unmarked van,’ or ‘homemade condom.’” — TREVOR NOAH

CreditVideo by The Daily Show With Trevor Noah

Mr. Noah also commented on a Croatian billboard that wryly commented on Melania Trump’s English skills.

“Some news from Croatia: Billboards that featured U.S. first lady Melania Trump and the slogan ‘Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English’ have been taken down after her lawyer threatened to sue. Wow. ‘Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English.’ I can’t believe they put that up there with Melania’s picture — it should have been a picture of Donald.” — TREVOR NOAH

Kimmel Keeps Up the Heat on Cassidy

Jimmy Kimmel dressed down Senator Bill Cassidy for the third day in a row over the senator’s bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But Mr. Kimmel rejected the suggestion that he ought to have Mr. Cassidy back on his show for a follow-up interview.

“We spoke, he told me one thing, he did another — are we supposed to do that again? Some people tell me I should give him the benefit of the doubt, and you know what, I do give him the benefit of the doubt: I doubt all the benefits he claims are part of the new health care bill.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“All of these groups populated by doctors say this health care bill is bad. They’re against it. We haven’t seen this many people come forward to speak out against a bill since Cosby.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

‘Sooo Lucky’

On “Late Night,” Seth Meyers drew from the well that keeps on giving: Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed. He quoted from a tweet Mr. Trump sent on Wednesday weighing in on the upcoming Senate election in Alabama.

“President Trump tweeted yesterday, quote, ‘Alabama is sooo lucky to have a candidate like “Big” Luther Strange’ for the special Senate election to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s seat. But look how he spelled ‘so.’ Hey, man, anything more than one ‘o’ means you’re being sarcastic. But you must know that — you’re soooo smart.” — SETH MEYERS

The Punchiest Punchlines (7-Eleven Edition)

“Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he never knowingly lied to the American people. He then said, ‘Dammit, I just lied again, I can’t help myself.” — CONAN O’BRIEN

“Some 7-Eleven stores are now offering what they are calling restaurant-quality dishes. ‘Hey, we should try that!’ said Olive Garden.” — SETH MEYERS

“The U.N. General Assembly is still going on. And, did you see this? North Korea’s foreign minister said Trump’s speech sounded like a dog barking. Trump didn’t respond because he was chasing after a fire truck.” — JIMMY FALLON

The Bits Worth Watching

Strange teachers. And Derek.

Stephen Colbert impersonated Lawrence O’Donnell, the MSNBC host who had an on-set meltdown over technical difficulties.

Enjoy the Weekend

Next week kicks off with a visit by Madonna to the “The Tonight Show.” In the meantime, make the most of the first weekend of fall. We’ll talk to you next week.

Also, Check This Out

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Jimmy Kimmel in the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” green room in February. He has become an outspoken voice on health care policy.CreditBrinson+Banks for The New York Times

Mr. Kimmel isn’t the first late-show host to ditch the jokes for some earnest advocacy.